SLAPD.BACKENDS(5)

📦
version 2.7.2 · 24 versions
, in arch rolling

💅 SLAPD.BACKENDS 💅

okay bestie so this is slapd.backends, which lives in section 5 of the File Formats Manual, and it's literally just the glosssary of every backend the slapd girlie can serve LDAP with. sit down, hydrate, let's get into it 🫶

✨ NAME ✨

slapd.backends — the backends for slapd, aka the stand-alone LDAP daemon. no cap.

🌸 DESCRIPTION 🌸

so the slapd(8) daemon can use a whole variety of different backends for serving LDAP requests. like, options. she's versatile. ✨

backends may be compiled statically into slapd, or — when module support is enabled — they may be dynamically loaded. and multiple instances of a backend can be configured, so you can serve separate databases from the same slapd server. iconiqué behavior, honestly.

configuration options for each backend are documented separately in the corresponding slapd-<backend>(5) manual pages. so yeah, each one has her own little doc. go read them. iykyk.

the lineup 👑

  • asyncmeta — this backend does basic LDAP proxying with respect to a set of remote LDAP servers. it's an enhancement of the ldap backend that operates asynchronously, to prevent tying up slapd threads while waiting for operations to complete. so polite of her, not hogging the threads. 💖
  • config — this backend is used to manage the configuration of slapd at run-time. unlike other backends, only a single instance of the config backend may be defined. it also instantiates itself automatically, so it is always present even if not explicitly defined in the slapd.conf(5) file. she shows up uninvited and honestly? we love that for her.
  • dnssrv — this backend is experimental. it serves up referrals based upon SRV resource records held in the Domain Name System. 🦋
  • ldap — this backend acts as a proxy to forward incoming requests to another LDAP server. middleman energy fr.
  • ldif — this database uses the filesystem to build the tree structure of the database, using plain ascii files to store data. its usage should be limited to very simple databases, where performance is not a requirement. this backend also supports subtree renames. so like, cute for a little side project, not for the main character load. periodt.
  • mdb — this is the recommended primary backend. 💅 it uses OpenLDAP's own MDB transactional database library. this backend also supports subtree renames. she ate and left no crumbs.
  • meta — this backend performs basic LDAP proxying with respect to a set of remote LDAP servers. it is an enhancement of the ldap backend. the og's glow-up.
  • monitor — this backend provides information about the running status of the slapd daemon. only a single instance of the monitor backend may be defined. one girl only. 🎀
  • null — operations in this backend succeed but do nothing. 💀 the absolute slay of doing nothing and still winning.
  • passwd — this backend is provided for demonstration purposes only. it serves up user account information from the system passwd(5) file. so like, a costume, not a lifestyle. 🙈
  • relay — this backend is experimental. it redirects LDAP operations to another database in the same server, based on the naming context of the request. its use requires the rwm overlay (see slapo-rwm(5) for details) to rewrite the naming context of the request. it is primarily intended to implement virtual views on databases that actually store data. ✨
  • wiredtiger — this backend is experimental. it services LDAP requests from a wiredtiger database. 🐯

🎀 FILES 🎀

  • /etc/openldap/slapd.conf — the default slapd configuration file
  • /etc/openldap/slapd.d — the default slapd configuration directory

👑 SEE ALSO 👑

ldap(3), slapd-asyncmeta(5), slapd-config(5), slapd-dnssrv(5), slapd-ldap(5), slapd-ldif(5), slapd-mdb(5), slapd-meta(5), slapd-monitor(5), slapd-null(5), slapd-passwd(5), slapd-relay(5), slapd-wt(5), slapd.conf(5), slapd.overlays(5), slapd(8). also "OpenLDAP Administrator's Guide" (http://www.OpenLDAP.org/doc/admin/) — go read the guide bestie, it's giving required reading 📚

🌈 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 🌈

OpenLDAP Software is developed and maintained by The OpenLDAP Project <http://www.openldap.org/>. OpenLDAP Software is derived from the University of Michigan LDAP 3.3 Release. shoutout to the originators, fr fr 🫶

and that's the whole page bestie, you're officially backend-pilled 💖

k bye, this was OpenLDAP 2.7.2, dated 2026/10/21, and that's the SLAPD.BACKENDS(5) page — love u, go configure something iconic ✨💅

📦 where this page comes from